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Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince Hardcover - 2009

Name: Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince
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Author: Vieira, Mark A.
ISBN: 9780520260481

by Mark A. Vieira

Hollywood in the 1920s sparkled with talent, confidence, and opportunity. Enter Irving Thalberg of Brooklyn, who was running Universal Pictures at age 20; co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at 24; and created the classics "Ben-Hur, Tarzan the Ape Man, Mutiny on the Bounty," and "The Good Earth" before he dying tragically at 37.

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From the publisher

Hollywood in the 1920s sparkled with talent, confidence, and opportunity. Enter Irving Thalberg of Brooklyn, who survived childhood illness to run Universal Pictures at twenty; co-found Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at twenty-four; and make stars of Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and Jean Harlow. Known as Hollywood's "Boy Wonder," Thalberg created classics such as Ben-Hur, Tarzan the Ape Man, Grand Hotel, Freaks, Mutiny on the Bounty, and The Good Earth, but died tragically at thirty-seven. His place in the pantheon should have been assured, yet his films were not reissued for thirty years, spurring critics to question his legend and diminish his achievements. In this definitive biography, illustrated with rare photographs, Mark A. Vieira sets the record straight, using unpublished production files, financial records, and correspondence to confirm the genius of Thalberg's methods. In addition, this is the first Thalberg biography to utilize both his recorded conversations and the unpublished memoirs of his wife, Norma Shearer. Irving Thalberg is a compelling narrative of power and idealism, revealing for the first time the human being behind the legend.

From the rear cover

"I thought I knew the story of Irving Thalberg, Hollywood's fabled boy wonder, but I learned a lot from this well-written, diligently researched book. Mark Vieira immerses us in Thalberg's life and career and sheds new light on the workings of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at the peak of its powers. This is an altogether remarkable piece of work. "--Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian

"Mark A. Vieira's book is exceptionally well researched and makes a tremendous contribution to our understanding of an extraordinary era."--Kevin Brownlow, film historian and filmmaker

"Being the son of David O. Selznick and the grandson of Louis B. Mayer, I have read many books about Irving Thalberg, but none has brought this elusive figure to life as does Mark A. Vieira's. Because he had access to Norma Shearer's memoir notes and because he painstakingly reconstructed each year of Thalberg's brief life, a new figure emerges. Where before we saw a gentle and sensitive man who devoted great care to his films, we now see fierce concentration, arrogance, impatience with stupidity, and a compulsion to oversee every detail of every MGM film. Whatever it cost--and it cost him his health--it resulted in a body of work unprecedented in the history of the medium. I found Irving Thalberg compelling reading and masterly in its ability to keep me reading chapter after astonishing chapter."--Daniel Mayer Selznick, film historian and filmmaker

Details

Title Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince
Author Mark A. Vieira
Binding Hardcover
Edition First Edition
Pages 526
Volumes 1
Language ENG
Publisher University of California Press, Berkeley
Date 2009-11
Illustrated Yes
Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
ISBN 9780520260481 / 0520260481
Weight 1.96 lbs (0.89 kg)
Dimensions 9.02 x 6.42 x 1.44 in (22.91 x 16.31 x 3.66 cm)
Themes
- Aspects (Academic): Film
- Chronological Period: 1900-1949
Library of Congress subjects Motion picture producers and directors -, Thalberg, Irving G.
Library of Congress Catalog Number 2009011534
Dewey Decimal Code B

Media reviews

Citations

Choice, 07/01/2010, Page 0
Chronicle of Higher Education, 01/15/2010, Page 19
Library Journal, 10/15/2009, Page 80

About the author

Mark A. Vieira is a photographer, filmmaker, and Hollywood historian. His previous books include Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits and Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy.

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Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 504 pages, b&w illustrations. Hollywood in the 1920s sparkled with talent, confidence, and opportunity. Enter Irving Thalberg of Brooklyn, who survived childhood illness to run Universal Pictures at twenty; co-found Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at twenty-four; and make stars of Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and Jean Harlow. Known as Hollywood's “Boy Wonder,” Thalberg created classics such as Ben-Hur, Tarzan the Ape Man, Grand Hotel, Freaks, Mutiny on the Bounty, and The Good Earth, but died tragically at thirty-seven. His place in the pantheon should have been assured, yet his films were not reissued for thirty years, spurring critics to question his legend and diminish his achievements. In this definitive biography, illustrated with rare photographs, Mark A. Vieira sets the record straight, using unpublished production files, financial records,… Read More

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Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince

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Hardback. New. Known as Hollywood's 'Boy Wonder', Irving Thalberg created classics such as "Ben-Hur", "Tarzan the Ape Man", "Grand Hotel", "Freaks", "Mutiny on the Bounty", and "The Good Earth", but died tragically at thirty-seven. This work uses production files, financial records, and correspondence to confirm the genius of Thalberg's methods.